A create session request message and a create session response message in an attach procedure of user equipment, and a create bearer request message and a create bearer reply message in a dedicated bearer activation procedure are all general data transfer platform (GTP) messages (where GTP messages further include an update bearer request and response, a delete bearer request and response, and the like). For a GTP message, a message retransmission mechanism is used to ensure transmission reliability of the message, that is, after sending a GTP message (such as a create bearer request), a GTP message sending device starts a retransmission timer (whose duration is T3-RESPONSE), and when the retransmission timer expires, if the GTP message sending device does not receive a corresponding response message (such as a create bearer response), the GTP message sending device retransmits the GTP message, and starts a retransmission counter to record a quantity of times of retransmissions. When the quantity of times of retransmissions is greater than N3-REQUESTS, the GTP message sending device considers that a path fault occurs, records information about the fault, and deletes a corresponding user/bearer context or initiates a device recovery procedure (for example, when the GTP message sending device is a serving gateway (S-GW), a current S-GW of user equipment is changed). T3-RESPONSE and N3-REQUESTS may be configured on the GTP message sending device.
Currently, to save electricity of user equipment, when the user equipment is in an idle state, discontinuous reception (DRX) is used, so as to reduce consumption of electricity. Each paging frame is one radio frame, and may include multiple paging occasions. When the DRX is used, the user equipment needs to listen to only one paging occasion in each DRX period, thereby achieving the purpose of saving electricity of the user equipment.
Another electricity saving manner is that user equipment enters an electricity saving state, and in this state, a user no longer listens to any signaling sent from a network side; after learning that the user equipment enters the electricity saving state, an MME no longer attempts to page the user equipment, and the MME does not start paging the user equipment until the user equipment exits the electricity saving state. The MME and the user equipment may determine, by means of configuration or signaling interaction, specific times at which the user equipment enters the electricity saving state and exits the state.
In the foregoing prior art, when the DRX period is set to be a relatively long time, or when the user equipment stays in the electricity saving state for a long time, it is caused that the UE does not respond to paging within a relatively long time. In such a case, if the initiated paging is caused by reception of a GTP message (for example, in a bearer activation procedure of an evolved packet system (EPS) radio network architecture, if user equipment is in an idle state, after receiving a create bearer request, a mobility management entity (MME) triggers a procedure of paging the user equipment), it is caused that a paging device does not send a GTP response message within a long time (because the MME does not send a response message to an S-GW until a service request procedure is ended); in this case, if a packet data network gateway (P-GW) that sends the create bearer request does not receive a response message in a long time, the packet data network gateway retransmits the corresponding create bearer request message, until a count of a retransmission counter exceeds N3-REQUESTS, and then deletes a corresponding user/bearer context or initiates a node recovery procedure. In this case, when a no-response time of a user, such as a set DRX time or a time in which user equipment stays in an electricity saving state, is excessively long, a service interruption of the user equipment is caused or an unnecessary device recovery procedure is caused, leading to signaling overload of a network.